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Witch Doctor
"I wander to places beyond imaginings, far from the jungles of my youth. My knowledge has grown vast. The people, they think me banished -- shunned to the end of my days. They say I defy the spirits. But I say no, I follow them. The spirits show me alone that the sky-fire is where the end begins. They say this must not be. I live to serve the spirits, so I go. There is none but me to answer the call." —A Witch Doctor''Diablo III, ''Witch Doctor Intro Cinematic The Witch Doctor is one of the new character classes for Diablo III. The Witch Doctor possesses several elements of previous Diablo II character classes, namely the Sorceress, Druid and Necromancer. Lore Most believe Witch Doctors to be figments of legend.Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Witch Doctor Indeed, few outlanders have encountered a Witch Doctor in the flesh without losing their own.Heroes of the Storm, Witch Doctor Lore In truth, the role of a Witch Doctor is a hallowed one in Umbaru society, though only a few men and women can ascend to the position for they must possess both a history of battle and a talent for communing with spirits. The latter ability belongs solely to those born with the touch of the Unformed Land.Witch Doctor, Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed on 2013-11-01 The Witch Doctors are finely attuned to this realm and are able to train their minds to perceive this reality through a combination of rituals and the use of selected roots and herbs found in the jungles of their homeland. They call the state in which they interact with this other world the "Ghost Trance". When a person dies, Witch Doctors feel what they suspect is the breath of life leaving their cooling body. And, when calamity or genocide sends hundreds to their graves at once, Witch Doctors can sense their trembling and shrieking from beyond. They cannot avoid hearing this—they must restore the balance between their world and the Unformed Land, or watch the torment of generations past for the rest of their lives...and forever after. Abilities Witch Doctors are spiritual warriors who summon dead souls and crawling creatures to do their bidding. By surrounding themselves with a mix of conjured zombies and vermin, Witch Doctors are free to assault their enemies with exploding skulls, acrid poison clouds, and wasting curses. Through their connection to the Unformed Land, Witch Doctors are able to tap into mana. Although some Witch Doctors avoid melee combat in favor of augmenting their pets and crippling their enemies from afar, they are also more than capable of slaying weakened foes with their own hands. This includes the use of mojos and enchanted ceremonial daggers. Unlike common knives, these blades are honed towards one purpose – human sacrifice – and so they are well-suited to ending lives. Gameplay The Witch Doctor is classified as a "dark class," or "pet class."2013-03-04, BlizzCon 2013 – Diablo III: Gameplay Systems + Crusader Panel Transcript. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2014-03-04 Witch Doctors are able to summon pets to their side and cast debilitating abilities on their enemies. They draw on mana for their abilities. Unlike other class abilities in Diablo III, mana regenerates slowly, so Witch Doctors have to choose what abilities to cast with care. Pets are a good way to keep engaging enemies without the cost of using mana. An advantage of this skill system is that the mana pool allows the Witch Doctor to use multiple, powerful abilities over a short period before the mana is depleted. Witch Doctors have unique equipment: mojos, ceremonial knives, and voodoo masks. Skills The Witch Doctor's specialized skill sets are categorized as Terror, Decay, and Voodoo. Many of the Witch Doctor's skills bear some resemblance to those of the Druid and Necromancer. Witch Doctors rely heavily on Damage over Time skills and summoned pets, as well as curses that destroy their opponents' ability to fight back (and humiliate them as well). Popular Witch Doctor combinations include2014, Most Popular Witch Doctor Builds The top Diablo III Witch Doctor builds and skills at level 70 in Reaper of Souls. Diablo Somepage, accessed on 2014-06-30: *Zombomancer (Gargantuan + Summon Zombie Dogs + Zombie Handler + Midnight Feast + Fierce Loyalty + Mask of Jeram + Tasker and Theo) *Harvester (Raiment of the Jade Harvester + Pestilence + Resentful Spirits + + Creeping Death) *Death Eater (Grave Injustice + Pierce the Veil + Piranhado + Rain of Toads) *Ghost Runner (Jaunt + Spirit Vessel) *Fetishist (Fetish Army + Fetish Sycophants + Slam Dance + or Starmetal Kukri + Zunimassa's Haunt) *Batman (Vampire Bats + Pyrogeist + stacking Fire % skill damage) Witch Doctors have four class sets in game: *Manajuma's Way (60 minor weapon set, 2 items) *Zunimassa's Haunt (60 full set, 5 items) *Raiment of the Jade Harvester (70 offensive full set, 6 items) *Helltooth Harness (70 defensive full set, 6 items) Development :"What I like the most about the witch doctor is I really felt like the team was unified in the vision for that character, so when I got to animate it, I had so much information to pull from that I felt it happened naturally." —Nick Chilano, senior animator It was quickly agreed during development that the Witch Doctor should be quirky, creepy, and a little scary. Feathers, body paint, and painted wood were settled on as the class's base materials. Developing the Witch Doctor's large mask was a turning point in its development, and remained an iconic component of the character design.The Art of Diablo III The Witch Doctor was not designed to be a replacement for the Necromancer. Developers have stated that if there was ever to be a playable Necromancer class for Diablo III, the presence of the Witch Doctor would not prevent them from implementing it.WWI 2008: D3 Design Fundamentals Panel. Diablo Wiki, accessed on 2013-11-03 According to Jay Wilson, a key difference between the classes is that the Witch Doctor is more inclined to deal direct damage than the Necromancer, which aside from specific builds, was pet heavy.2008-12-23, Exclusive Diablo 3 Developer Interview. 1Up.com, accessed on 2013-11-03 Known Witch Doctors *Benu *Edwasi *Guwate'ka (elder priest) *Jeram *Manajuma *Nazeebo *Tukam *Zunimassa *Zuwadza Images File:Female Witch Doctor models.jpg|Different models for the female Witch Doctor File:Female_Witch_Doctor_concept.jpg|Female Witch Doctor concept WitchDoctorFemale.jpg|Female Witch Doctor from 10/12/2010 WitchDoctorMale.jpg|Male Witch Doctor from 9/30/2010 witchhunter.jpg|Male Witch Doctor armor progression. Witchdoctor-female.gif Witchdoctor-male.gif EUN76GQ1VT5E1337391804093.jpg|Witch Doctor wd-mf-blizzcon2011.jpg|Witch Doctor in-game portraits Trivia * The Witch Doctor may be partially based on its Warcraft counterpart. Blizzard Entertainment has indeed admitted that they like to "steal from themselves."2008-02-07,Kotaku: Diablo III Lore and Battlenet. Lesley Smith. Accessed on 2008-03-07 The class bears resemblance to real-world Voodoo practitioners, most likely Haitian, though the male character speaks with an African accent. * The shaking hand of the male witch doctor might also be due to the cannibalistic tendencies of their culture. In the booklet with the game it mentions that fallen warriors are eaten for their strength, and medical knowledge confirms that one sign of cannibalism is in the shaking hands of the consumer. Note: The Female witch doctor's hands or any other body parts of hers do not shake as the males do. * The Witch Doctor appears in Heroes of the Storm.StarCraft. 2011-10-20. Blizzard DOTA Trailer. Youtube. Accessed 2011-10-22. References de:Hexendoktor Category:Classes Category:Diablo III